Instead of another list of doomed goals about weight loss and iPhone use… the 500 Startups Distribution team is officially making this a DISTRO NEW YEAR. Here are 7 growth resolutions for 2015 we’d like to see more early stage founders take on. 1. COLLECT MORE EMAILS Before you get fancy with email marketing or Facebook Custom Audiences, get a list. Are you collecting user emails: In your personal email footers — yours + all the people on your team On your home page On all your social profiles: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube channel At all offline events & promotions On your Angellist & Crunchbase profiles On your company / team About pages Persistently throughout your site in the …

On the plane, on the train, on your parents’ 20 year old couch — there’s no time like RIGHT NOW to catch up on your growth reading, and do better distribution in 2015. 1. This Email Got a 60% Open Rate — Here’s How The 500 Events team is a production powerhouse, putting on 5 – 6 major content conferences per year. But the party’s no fun unless people show up. This post goes behind the scenes on 500 Events’ single most effective conversion channel — EMAIL — and look at how 500 Events has gotten up to 60% open rates on sales emails (not just transactional messages and confirmations). 2. 23 Campaigns Every Startup Should Run to Gain Immediate …

500 Global Startup Series: Enter the Middle East The 500 Global Startup Series brings insights from new tech regions and puts a spotlight on talented entrepreneurs in every corner of the world. We’re kicking off a 7 part series and beginning with a comprehensive look into the tech landscape of the Middle East & North Africa region (MENA). Over the next few months, we’ll also explore different areas such as Israel, India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, China and more. We’ll also discuss the successes and challenges that global investors and founders face in 2015 and beyond. It’s clear that a major entrepreneurial shift is taking place in the Middle East and the startup scene has grown exponentially in the past …

2014 is coming to a close and it’s that festive time of year again! Looking to find the perfect gift for your friend, colleague, family or lover? Well look no further. We’ve curated a little list of products BUILT BY 500’s portfolio companies. Happy holidays from US to YOU! For foodies Doughbies (prices may vary) “I hate cookies”, said no one, ever……. Doughbies delivers freshly baked cookies in 20 minutes or less. Everything is handmade in small batches by local bakers who care about quality and method. YUM. Available at https://doughbies.co/ LovewithFood (10.00/month) Do you have that kale-lovin’ and snack-a-holic friend? If they’re too busy zen’ing it up at Yoga, this is the gift for them. LovewithFood delivers natural or …

The 500 Events team is a production powerhouse, putting on 5 – 6 major content conferences per year. But the party’s no fun unless people show up. Today we’re going to go behind the scenes on 500 Events’ single most effective conversion channel — EMAIL — and look at how 500 Events has gotten up to 60% open rates on sales emails (not just transactional messages and confirmations). 5 factors influence open rates: Subject line Sender List quality Snippet Preview Content Let’s dig into each of these in more detail. 1. SUBJECT LINE A campaign’s subject line has the most obvious direct impact on open rates. Good subject lines: — have a CTA in the form of short, action verbs …

Warm Gun Design Conference is THIS WEEK (December 4th) and 500 caught up with speaker and Etsy Designer, Jessica Harllee, to talk about experimentation, tools and tips for aspiring and veteran designers alike. Can you give us a sneak preview on your talk: “How data can focus design decisions & anchor a well-designed experience”? Earlier this year we wanted to release a fresh new design of our Etsy seller onboarding, but when we tested the design in an experiment it wasn’t performing well enough to replace the original version. We looked at the data we got back and used that to inform a handful of design tweaks. Come to my talk to hear what the outcome was! Who/what inspires your …

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